Published On:Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Tribune Features Writer

I don't know if it's just me or if there are other Bahamians who have no clue about crabbing (catching crabs). It wasn't until three weeks ago when one of my friends enlightened me about crabs. Before then, I never knew that these crawling crustaceans cannot be cooked immediately after being caught. When my grandmother got crabs I always thought she just kept them on the kitchen counter feeding on yellow grits because she wasn't ready to prepare them.

After talking to Lady Ingrid Darling, author of Many Tastes of the Bahamas & Culinary Influences of the Caribbean I didn't feel so bad because she herself knew nothing much about crabs.

This ignorance propelled me to find out more about crabbing activities, plus I thought it would make a great story as this is the crab season and the previous story featured in our taste section was about crab recipes.

They are no Androsians, but Barry Cadet and Lashandra Cadet enjoy catching crabs. Mr Cadet doesn't hustle through the bushes of Eleuthera to catch just a few crabs. When he goes crabbing- his yield comes in big numbers.

He has been doing this for fifteen years and he is thrilled every time he goes to catch crabs.

The first thing one should know about crabbing is where to find them. If you live in crab infested Andros all you have to do is step outside your door and you can find them. On other islands, you would have to go deep into the bush to find them.

On his crabbing adventure Mr Cadet goes deep into the bushes with his flashlight to find his two week supply of dinner.

"They must be properly cleaned and caged for a period of time," Mr Cadet said. "Crabs can be caged for up to 3 weeks, his wife Lashandra added.

Bushman from Long Island said that he has been crabbing all his life and his favourite kind of crab is the black crab. "I hate white crabs because they eat anything. In my opinion the black crabs are better because they eat berries and fallen fruits," he said.

“The best time to catch crab is when it is dark out and after the rain. Crabs walk at night and they love the wet, so they are the best times to catch crab,” Bushman said.

For the inexperienced like myself Bushman demonstrated the techniques for catching crabs.

“What you want to do is put your foot on the back of the crab, not to hard to crush it. Then you pick the crab up by its back. Don’t put your finger anywhere near the biter or else they will snap. Then throw it in a crocus sack or straw basket,” Bushman explained.

Afterwards Bushman said that the crabs should be caged and fed for at least three weeks.

“Crabs can’t be caught and immediately cooked because they are scavengers and they don’t have a digestive system. So they must be fed things like coconut, watermelon, or grits so their systems can be cleaned,” Bushman said.

Bushman warned crab lovers to never buy a dead crab.  He said: “ You don’t know what they were eating.”